Various Artists – "When Things Were Perfect" (Peeved Records – PV020) 1985

More Cambridge indie pop via Southampton from a time when things seemed perfect, but on the evidence presented here, wasn't. .....which as i've mentioned several times before is a kind of perfection?

Trouble is, this nostalgia trip very accurately recreates the sound and feel of the black hole that was left behind by the great fizzle out of yer Punk Rock.

There was nothing left to populate the event horizon except a sliding slagheap of middle class studentia playing uneventful Indie-pop...the Uneventful Horizon as one calls it. With only Shoegaze,Twee, and Ron Johnson to assist in the awful choice between C-86 and Acid House.

Tracklist:

A1 The Deviance – The Other Side
A2 The Deviance – Watch It Burn
A3 The Deviance – Frozen Moments
A4 The Deviance – Savage Days
A5 The Deviance – Self Destruction
A6 The Deviance – Happy World
A7 The Children Of Some Tradition– The Last Resort
A8 The Children Of Some Tradition– Town To Town
B1 Perfect Vision– Scratch And Howl
B2 Perfect Vision– Engines
B3 Perfect Vision– Co-Incidence
B4 Perfect Vision– Hole In The Sole
B5 Perfect Vision– Laugh At Breakage
B6 Red Over White– Killed By His Own Tribe
B7 Red Over White– Suffocation
B8 Red Over White– No Shame

DOWNLOAD from when things were far from perfect HERE!

The Wedding Present – "Live Tape No. 1 - Leicester Poly 5th May 1987" (self-released C-60) 1987

One's gig-life in 1987 was dictated by the burgeoning C-86 Indie pop shoegazing scene ,so i saw endless groups of that genre,and I was AT this one. I have no memory of it beyond that,except for buying an industrial Hot dog outside the venue aprés-show,which was a dangerous occupation in Leicester at the time,involving various violent episodes involving Burger Vans and axes...."The Hot Dog Wars" as it was titled by investigative journalist knob, Roger Cook,on the Cook report TV show. Joe Perscico (spelling?)the rather frightening head thug, lived opposite my Leicester Poly indie friends,and he coned off the entire street for his Hot-Dog vans...and woe betide anyone who wanted to park outside their home!!!!

Hopefully the Hot-Dog I bought after The Wedding Present gig, wasn't one of his.He's either dead or in Prison now anyway.

I do remember that the venue was approximately half-full,and the very quiet audience reaction was mostly due to the microphones facing the band rather than the students who ,frankly, should have been revising!?

The Poly had a fine bar,with reasonable prices, so I wasn't here for the whole of the performance.

My record purchasing in 1887, didn't really include the C-86 mob, even though Bogshed/Big Flame etc were on that, but erred on the side of Ron Johnson Records and all that American noise Rock stuff,like Big Black etc, who didn't play in Leicester Pubs very often. The only Uk equivalents were stuff like Head Of David,Walking Seeds, and, I suppose, Napalm Death?

Ah Napalm Death, the ones who had a sticker on their first LP proclaiming them as the worlds fastest band?.....surely not?...didn't that accolade belong to The Wedding Present in 1987?

Also strangely, The Wedding Present was one of Steve Albini of Big Black's early "production" jobs? Even though he had never heard of them....'Producer' being a rather too fancy job description for his glorified Sound engineering....Production requires new ideas and a creative input of sorts.Something Steve vehemently shuns in favour of leaving the music to the Band....an attitude that would have robbed us of many classic albums.....eg Joy Division.

The Leicster Polytechnic is now called "De Montfort University", worryingly named after a famous 12th century anti-Semite,Psycopath, former Lord Of Leicester,and Dictator of England, Simon De Montfort;who passed a local law banning Jews from Leicester for all eternity.Apparently this is still on the statute books as I type.

Also, De Montfort university is responsible for taking over the city in an endless quest for huge profits, demolishing several of my favourite Pubs to build new student accommodation;some of which now occupies the site upon which I wanted to scatter my mortal remains,namely Filbert street Football ground. Its not there no more!?...but at least the music venue is still going,although renamed as something else....i dunno wot, doon't live there no more.

Tracklist:

A1 This Boy Can Wait
A2 Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
A3 All This And More
A4 A Million Miles
A5 You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends
A6 I Regret Everything
A7 Something And Nothing
A8 The Day That This Letter Came
B1 My Favourite Dress
B2 Never Said
B3 Give My Love To Kevin
B4 Go Out And Get 'Em Boy!
B5 Getting Nowhere Fast
B6 Once More

DOWNLOAD the perfect wedding gift for your wife HERE!

Mousefolk – "Mousefolk" (Tea Time Records – tea time tape 1) 1989

The mouse seems to be the rodent of choice for many an indie Lo-Fi twee shoegaze group.Firstly we had The Field Mice,but this time it's the turn of "Mousefolk" ,a Bristolian quintet on the obscure Shoegaze orientated label,the very quaint Tea Time Records(hear a radio interview here!);also from Bristol I wager?

A compilation of older recordings,released on Cassette in 1989.

They seem to have nurtured the analogue fuzz very nicely,drowning out the vocals adequately enough to invoke images of these pale young boys surfing on waves of cotton wool with the pre-axelrod Electric Prunes in the fog of the Bristol channel.

This is how music sounds when you're off yer titz on Scrumpy.

Scrumpadelic?

Tracklist:

A1 Sleepwalk
A2 Just Can't Stay
A3 Cut Me Down To Size
A4 Fire Engine
A5 Greatest Thing
A6 Acid-Trip-Out!
A7 Will Anyone Ever Remember You?
A8 Fly (live - 19/11/87)
A9 Don't Let Me Slip Away
A10 Spinning Round
B1 Pictures Of You (live - 28/2/88)
B2 Autumn (live - 28/2/88)
B3 Grannies Cake Crisis
B4 I Don't Love You
B5 Tonight
B6 End Of The World
B7 Wishing The Summer Away
B8 Motorcycle Boy
B9 Joyce McKinney's Boyfriend

DOWNLOAD in time for tea HERE!

The Field Mice – "Snowball 10" + Singles" (Sarah Records – SARAH 402) 1989

The original Snowflakes and Twee giants The Field Mice,could have been The Stone Roses if they came from some northern ghetto and walked like a bunch of monkey's.

Of course The Stone Roses were obviously Twee shoegazing wannabe's on drugs,rather than sensitive young men and ladie(s) from the stockbroker belt running light on mental issues.

You all know I like a nice mauve ten incher in my hand every now and again,and this one is a classic of the Twee genre,with the occasional rocker tucked in there for good measure.

Even better than this mini-album would have to be the 5 or so singles that came out around the same time,including the rather groovy "Sensitive",which i guess is their signature tune Stone Roses album ender on 45.

Blissfully oblivious of the Madchester nonsense that would eventually kill The Field Mice and shoegaze off,of which,there was a lot about in '89 ,unfortunately;these nice young snowflakes, stuck stubbornly to their post C-86 indie pop and made a bucket full of sweet tunes for us,from a much better time to be alive.....No Internet full of nutjobs,True Patriots,Critical Race Theorists, or impending Facist takeovers or failed coup's back then. Maybe send a copy of this to mark the first anniversary of the Ukraine WAR,(packed with explosives?), to Mad Vlad....he really does need to relax a bit and calm the fuck down!? I'm really worried about the Cunts mental health....Honest.

"Snowball 10"er):

1.Let's Kiss And Make Up 6:12

2.You're Kidding Aren't You? 2:30

3.End Of The Affair 4:14

4.Couldn't Feel Safer 3:47

5.This Love Is Not Wrong 3:21

6.Everything About You 2:30

7.White 4:48

8.Letting Go 6:33

Singles:

9.Sensitive 5:04

10.When Morning Comes To Town 5:14

11.Emma's House 3:37

12.When You Sleep 3:32

13.Fabulous Friend 2:53

14..The Last Letter 2:46

15.I Can See Myself Alone Forever 5:20

16.Everything About You 2:21

17.That's All This Is 3:16

DOWNLOAD and bring the mice inside for the winter HERE!

Death By Milkfloat – "Sense And Nonsense" (Di Di Music – DI DI 120) 1987

Another group who should have been but never was,as in wasn't,on Ron Johnson Records, would be Death By Milkfloat. An amphetamine fueled Mackenzies type mental indie funk rush that couldn't be criticised for its low energy levels.

They also field another candidate for the fastest guitarist in the west,competing with the guitar wielders from the Wedding Present and The Nightingales;at a time when we all thought it had to be that bloke from Napalm Death,or other daft Grindcore nonsense from some silly sausage in Solihull.....drop the 'Soli' part and you'd be close,as Death By Milkfloat came from the lost city of Kingston Upon Hull.It rises from the sea smog of the Humber Estuary like a Brigadoon of functional architecture appearings like a grey ghost as one approaches across the Humber Bridge. 

It is said that once you go to Hull you can never leave,that's it, It's all over;due to the confusion spread by the Ministry of Defense Listening and early warning station.....Fun Fact: Hull is the nearest point in the UK to Russia.

Right now there are dozens of grey men and women hacking Russian soldier's phones for evidence of Genocide, and infiltrating slavic computer systems with false information...and they're doing it in Hull.

This would explain the manic high speed choppy style of probably, Hull's bestest group....not counting Fat Boy Slim of course,and certainly not counting Coum Transmissions aka ...Throbbing Gristle;especially now every trendy worth his spots think TG are the Dopest group to namedrop to his bearded chums in the nominate your own price coffee bar in the bohemian quarter.

Tracklist:

A1 What
A2 (What's Your Name) Roger Murray
B1 Man With A Dog
B2 Never The Same
B3 Fishlake

DOWNLOAD by milkfloat HERE!

The Great Leap Forward – "Controlling The Edges Of Tone" (Ron Johnson Records – ZRON 20) 1987

It all started to go WRONG with Ron Johnson Records, previously Thee perfect record Label, when bIG fLAME broke up,leaving us with Singer and Bassist Alan Brown's (a pop star's name if ever there wasn't one?) new poppier vehicle "The Great Leap Forward".

Firstly the band name rang alarm bells warning of trendy left wing alignment, to keep open ambitions to join the second coming of any potential "Red Wedge" tour with such like-minded righteous soap boxers as ex-tory Paul Weller's Style-less council, and the brain cell crushing awfulness that was,and sadly still is...Billy Bragg.....who incidentally had a song which went by the same name as Alan's new pinko pop chartbound flops.

As far as i was concerned,having eagerly purchased the debut EP "Controlling The Edges Of Sound", this was more the Great Leap Backwards from the cubist pop perfection of bIG fLAME. 

Right-on lefty lyrics aside,the music is a kind of B-movie version of Haircut 100's bastard child with Josef K.....which sounds quite promising,does it not?.....but it didn't even achieve that.Quite disappointed I was.

Listening to it again,removed from such idealistic times....its not bad....it really does sound like Haircut 100 grafted on to everyone's favourite Kafka cloned Edinburgher's.

Amusingly dated references to the E.E.C.(if only it stayed like that instead of the unwieldy soopah state of today's EU?) and the Common agricultural policy (C.A.P.),which gave us Wine lakes,Butter mountains, and Grain surplus's bigger than the Sahara desert.What would we all give to have that kind of resource at hand today with this idiotic war going on?

Yep...let's Jive While We're Still Alive.....i'm currently tapping my foot to this,so there's still hope.

Tracklist:

Side Head:
A1 Hope's Not Enough, Son - Ask Your Parents 3:17
A2 If The C.A.P's Flat, Than Waive It 3:58

Side Arrow:
B1 Let's Jive While We're Still Alive 2:42
B2 My Grandfather's Cluck 4:31

DOWNLOAD while you're still alive HERE!

We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use it - "Bostin' Steve Austin" (Vindaloo Records – FBOX 1) 1986

Also on Robert Lloyd of The Nightingales fame's Vindaloo Records,and touring mates of Ted Chippington, were the snappily named 'We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use it' from the home of heavy metal, Birmingham England....... 

As the much missed Jerry Orbach once said....(Who?)...

"Maybe this isn't your cuppa, but I'll cop to my fetish for 80's ladies. Why did they just seem so much more fun? When did girls just become so dour? Just look at the photo and tell me when you see girls like this anymore. You don't. Then again, if you read this blog it's unlikely that you see any girls aside from your mom and porn. At the risk of sounding like a misogynist, there's tons of girl bands out there now that really wish they could be this good, but, unfortunately they are shit. To this day, I wonder what ever became of these ladies. It's my debilitating laziness that prevents me from typing the band into google and actually find out. Some things are better kept as memories."

Nowadays the only 80's ladies I come across (Phnaar Phanaar) are ladies IN their 80's rather than ladies FROM thee 80's....oh by the way, the guitary-one with the star-shaped shades died about a decade ago.....cancer.

Of course, it all went tits up when Closet Gaylord Geffen got wind of it....prized them from Vindaloo,and shortened their name to just..."Fuzzbox",and insisted on hit singles and the like.

Why are major record labels such eternally blocked toilets of pure shite? They observe something the public like then change it,and sell a crapper version of it back to them.

Tracklist:

A1 Love Is The Slug 3:06
A2 Wait And See 2:15
A3 Jackie 2:39
A4 Spirit In The Sky 3:05
A5 X X Sex 1:59
A6 Alive 2:17
B1 What's The Point 2:27
B2 You Got Me 3:35
B3 Hollow Girl 3:09
B4 Console Me 1:27
B5 Rules And Regulations 2:48
B6 Preconceptions 2:32

DOWNLOAD it HERE and stuff!

Various Artists – "Ideal Guest House" (Shelter) 1986 & "The First After Epiphany" (Ron Johnson Records – ZRON 21) 1987

As I received a request for a Ron Johnson compilation,it reminded me of the official comedian attached to this shambling Ron Johnson style stuff, Ted "I was Walking Down the Road" Chippington. I'm not sure if he was into this kind of popular music,but he was enlisted to be the compare of this trendy compilation cassette to support homeless charity "Shelter"; which is rather apt as we are facing the largest homeless crisis in Europe since world war too. Its time to start world war Free (dom) innit? I am of course referring to the current Invasion of Ukraine by that nice Mr Putin man....just in case you are part of the uninformed majority,or living in Russia....in which case i have to inform you that your army has been committing War crimes against your Slavic brothers in the west.....basically you're fucked.

The drole monotone self-elected worst comedian in the world ever Ted,links together a bunch of shambling C86-era,Johnson related groups in his characteristic stoic manner...at times he's even funny!?

Its got Bog-Shed and bIG fLAME on it, what more could you want or need?......just ignore the Chumbawamba track,...oooooh, they didn't like Neil Kinnock.....edgy stuff not, nuff said.

Tracklist:

A1 Big Flame– Man Of Few Syllables
A2 The Wedding Present– You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends (alt Version)
A3 The Soup Dragons– Fair's Fair
A4 The Creepers– Sharper And Wider
A5 The Shop Assistants – Home Again (Live)
A6 The June Brides– This Town (Accoustic)
A7 Rob Grant with Yeah Yeah Noh– Mr. Hammond Has Breakfast In Bed
B1 Stump– Kitchen Table
B2 The Legend!– Everythings Coming Up Roses
B3 Pigbros– Barren Land
B4 Stitched Back Foot Airman– The Deadly Spore
B5 BMX Bandits– Sad?
B6 Bog-shed – Jobless Youngsters
B7 Chumbawamba– Kinnochio

DOWNLOAD and give these tracks a home HERE!

Oh Yeah!...here's that Ron Johnson sampler LP "The First After Epiphany" that i mistakenly thought had no exclusive tracks on it, and you could get them from the other official releases on the blog if you search for Ron Johnson Records. I was wrong, There's at least a Twang! track that one can't get elsewhere,and maybe an errant Splat! number,or anything else with an exclamation mark in it's name:

"The First After Epiphany"
Ron Johnson Records – ZRON 21 (1987)

Tracklist:

A1 Splat!– Mistook
A2 Big Flame– XPQWRTZ
A3 A Witness– Dipping Bird
A4 Stump– Big End
A5 MacKenzies– Man With No Reason
B1 The Shrubs– Blackmailer
B2 The Ex– Knock
B3 Twang – Here's Lukewarm
B4 The Nose Flutes– Bodyhair Up In The Air
B5 The Great Leap Forward– Drowning Speechless
B6 Jackdaw With Crowbar– Crow

DOWNLOAD this epiphanal moment HERE!

Bona Dish ‎– "On C30" (In Phaze Records ‎– IP003) 1981

As discussed on the previous post, what was and what wasn't 'Post-Punk';putting my revisionists hat on again, one came to the conclusion that there wasn't any Post Punk until it got a name.

This third Velvet Underground album inspired 'Post-Punk' cassette, on the legendary 'In-Phaze' DIY label, could have a claim to be the first 'Indie' band on record? It could have been titled Bona Dish on C86 if only they had a pop music crystal ball and saw the near future.

The acronym 'C86' itself conjures images of twee light weight pop,with a Velvet Underground leaning, but that actual cassette was full of the more spikey end of the independent music scene in the UK at the time.....I mean, Bogshed were on it for Lou Reed's sake!?Again betraying another fake scene as invented by the British music press,still desperate for another Punk Rock.

Who were the first Indie band then?....Well obviously it was the post-cale Velvets, a 'Proto-Indie' band if ever there was one;but, compared to the UK Indie sound they were virtually Heavy Metal when put alongside stuff like Bona Dish. Clean Guitars, Beta-male rhythm section,twee girly singers, fringes, apathetic and proud. Was Indie nothing more than well-played UK DIY,or post-punk with a rosy outlook?....the answer may well lie on this C-30.

Tracklist:

A1 Mutation
A2 Challenge
A3 Intense
A4 Jungle
B1 Actress
B2 Girl
B3 See - Line Woman
Β4 Etc.

DOWNLOAD a dishy boner HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "C-86" (New Musical Express ‎– NME 022) 1986

Amazingly,five of the Ron Johnson stable appeared on the Iconic 'Indie' compilation "C-86", as released/compiled by the NME.

Indeed we also find Bogshed nestled in amongst such pale floppy fringe wearers as The Wolfhounds, the Bodines and other jangly foppish nonsense.

I'm surprised to discover that the tape that defined an Indie Era of jingly jangly tweedom, did in fact have some very non-jangly groups included.

Primal Scream open up the proceedings sounding, for all the world exactly like the very shit Stone Roses, three years in advance of all that 'Madchester' crap.

Of course Primal Scream would become one of those very same ,terrible bandwagon jumping combo's of 1989. Of the rest only The Soup Dragons would join them in making dance/indie crossover awfulness; which is a shame because I quite liked early Soup Dragons......I'll admit......in fact i quite enjoyed a lot of this tape!?....which is strange, as I regarded this stuff (Ron Johnson acts excepted), as the enemy,rather than the NME.

30 years removed,one now finds this jangly indie pop refreshing,and charmingly youthful.Unlike me.

Tracklist:

1–Primal Scream Velocity Girl 1:22
2–The Mighty Lemon Drops Happy Head 2:42
3–The Soup Dragons Pleasantly Surprised 2:05
4–The Wolfhounds-Feeling So Strange Again 1:41
5–The Bodines-Therese 3:09
6–Mighty Mighty-Law 3:40
7–Stump-Buffalo 4:30
8–Bogshed-Run To The Temple 3:28
9–A Witness-Sharpened Sticks 2:30
10–The Pastels-Breaking Lines 2:59
11–The Age Of Chance-From Now On,This Will Be Your God 3:12
12–Shop Assistants-It's Up To You 2:38
13–The Close Lobsters - Firestation Towers 1:48
14–Miaow-Sport Most Royal 2:54
15–Half Man Half Biscuit-I Hate Nerys Hughes (From The Heart) 3:46
16–The Servants-Transparent 2:36
17–MacKenzies-Big Jim (There's No Pubs In Heaven) 2:34
18–Big Flame-New Way(Quick Wash & Brush Up With Liberation Theology)1:37
19–We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It-Console Me 1:24
20–McCarthy-Celestial City 2:59
21–The Shrubs-Bullfighter's Bones 3:48
22–The Wedding Present-This Boy Can Wait 4:00

DOWNLOAD to see and hear 1986 HERE!

Bogshed ‎– "Brutal" (Shelfish Records ‎– SHELFish 4) 1987

Here's Bogshed's first album part two, aka the second album, but the same as the first. Chock full of 'shambling' discordant alternative pop, executed to perfectly imperfect standards.
I always had a problem with this album,mainly because it had a glossy colour cover. Something that suggested pretensions towards popularity, which of course was total bollocks in the case of Bogshed, who couldn't have been more unpopular, even with John Peel listeners!
"Brutal" is comfortably the equal of "Step On It",there's just too much of it; perhaps Bogshed are another group who should have stuck to EP's? 
Never mind 'Geoffs Big Problem', Bogshed's big problem was how to move on from their formulaic composition's to something else......not that they should have.Their back catalogue is not far off perfect, and they stopped doing it at the correct time.
What did we get in place of all this Ron Johnson style stuff......yep.......bloody 'Madchester'!!!!....we didn't know how privileged we were.

Tracklist:

A1 Raise The Girl
A2 Geoff's Big Problem
A3 Old Dog New Dance
A4 No To Lemon Mash
A5 I'm The Instrument
A6 Oppertunatist Knocks
B1 People Equal Greedy
B2 Sing A Little Tune
B3 C'mon Everybody
B4 Uncle Death Grip
B5 Spring
B6 Loaf

DOWNLOAD brutally HERE!

Bogshed ‎– "Step On It" (Shelfish Records ‎– SHELFish 2) 1986

Bogshed, as brilliant as they were,and like many other similar alternative pop groups,had a tendency to repeat themselves, and very often only had one full length album in them.....and I suppose this is it? The Fall have more or less repeated them/him selves for thirty odd albums,only the constant reshuffling of personnel adding an accidental force for change. This method is not a guaranteed or desirable direction for most artists, so they fizzle out. And Bogshed did "Step On It 2" and fizzled out. 
Endlessly repeating yourself is,however, a sure way of creating a career in anything. Just look at U2,Damien Hirst,J.K. Rowling and van Morrison. Anyone with any integrity would just stop when they've done it.......Bogshed stopped.

Tracklist:

A1 Mechanical Nun 3:02
A2 Run To The Temple 3:31
A3 Adventure Of Dog 1:58
A4 Tommy Steele Record 3:23
A5 Jobless Youngsters 3:05
A6 Tried To Hide But Forced To Howl 2:49
A7 Packed Lunch To School 2:28
B1 Summer In My Lunchtime 2:38
B2 The Fastest Legs 2:18
B3 Oily Stack 2:13
B4 Hell Bent On Death 2:57
B5 Thunderballs 2:23
B6 Can't Be Beat 3:12
B7 Little Car 0:48

DOWNLOAD and step on it HERE!

Bogshed ‎– "Let Them Eat Bogshed" (Vinyl Drip Records ‎– DRIP 2) 1985

Any record with a song called "Panties Please" on it has to be good right?
Bogshed's debut release on John Robb of the Membranes' Vinyl Drip records has six Bogshed classics of the same high standard achieved by all of their rather marvelous tunes.
The cover boasts a couple of typical drawings by Bassist Mike Bryson;who still churns out cartoons and caricatures to this day (check out his site here) ; but nothing surpasses the gravelly disjointed basslines he laid down with Bogshed. 
Such lo-fi but melodic eccentricity the like of which we'll probably never see again, Probably because they've been ignored from the second after they split up,30 years ago, in the face of massive public indifference.

Tracklist:

A1 Panties Please 3:27
A2 Spencer Travis 1:54
A3 Fat Lad Exam Failure 3:08

B1 Slave Girls 2:15
B2 City Girls 1:56
B3 Hand Me Down Father 4:00

DOWNLOAD your panties HERE!

Bogshed - "Demo's and Rareties 1985-87" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

Then we had the crop of groups who should have been on Ron Johnson Records instead of The Sewer Zombies and The Ex.
The most shining example being Bogshed.
Cheeky northern monkeys who were incorrectly portrayed primarily as a comedy turn in some quarters.Originally called "The Amazing Roy North Penis Band" upon their inception in 1984, one could easily see why they flirted with the 'Novelty Act' category.
Their shambling, bass led sub-discordant modern music hall tunes, were certainly catchy,and could even induce an urge to sing-a-long-a-bogshed.
So here's a collection of demo's, compilation tracks,rare singles and unreleased stuff to prove their part in the 'Death To Trad Rock' story.
Unfortunately on the subject of death, Bogshed Singer and excellent lyricist, Paul Hartley, died over ten years ago, so the prospect of any nostalgic reformation of Bogshed is a sad non-starter; especially as drummer, Tristan King followed him to peel band valhalla a few years later.Don't it make you feel so incredibly mortal?

Tracklist:

01 Hand Me Down Father ('Raging Sun' Compilation)
02 Runner On A Blunder(imminent comp)
03 The Amazing Roy North Penis Band (Cherry Red Comp)
04 Gathering Change(Aborted Cherry red Compilation)
05 Hold Up Your Hands, I'm Coming To The Market (cherry red Comp)
06 Lodger Problem(Aborted Cherry red Comp
07 Porridge In The Clothes(Aborted Cherry Red Comp)
08 Too Many Personalities(Aborted Cherry Red Comp)
09 You Are This(Aborted Cherry red Compilation)
10 Hand Me Down Father (Demo 1985).
11 Packed Lunch to School(Demo 1985).
12 US Bands (Demo 1985).
13 Slave Girls(Demo 1985).
14 Panties Please(Demo 1985).
15 City Girls(Demo 1985).
16 Fat Lad exam Failure (Demo 1985).
17 Spencer Travis(Demo 1985).
18 The Amazing Roy North Penis Band (Demo 1985)
19 Stop Revolving (Unissued Single 1987)
20 Your Science, My Sound (Unissued Single B-Side 1987)
21 Excellent girl (Final Single Release 1987)

DOWNLOAD from the toilet bog to your own private shed HERE! 

Stump - " The Complete Peel Sessions 1986-88" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

Stump were exactly the kind of group that Peel would love. Quirky, over-clever, slightly irritating,and popular on the campus, primarily with the geekier end of the university chess club.
For some reason I can't remember Peel playing 'The Cardiacs' at all?....they tick all the Peel Band boxes twice over!?
Naturally, Stump did four sessions before they were drowned in infancy by the moozik biz......and here they are......:

Track Listing:

01 Kitchen Table [26-01-86]
02 Orgasm Way [26-01-86]
03 Grab Hands [26-01-86]
04 Buffalo [26-01-86]
05 Tupperware Stripper [24-06-86]
06 Big End [24-06-86]
07 Satisfaction [24-06-86]
08 Bit-Part Actor [24-06-86]
09 Living it Down [13-01-87]
10 Eager Bereaver [13-01-87]
11 Alcohol [13-01-87]
12 Bone [13-01-87]
13 The Song's Remains [13-09-88]
14 Thelma [13-09-88]
15 Seven Sisters [13-09-88]
16 Straight And Narrow [13-09-88]

DOWNLOAD the remains of a once noble tree HERE!

Stump ‎– "Quirk Out" (Stuff Records ‎– STUF/U2) 1986

Then Stump mysteriously appeared in a high gloss sleeved mini-album on some unknown label called 'Stuff Records'. Obviously to anyone with half a brain cell, this label was a crass attempt by major label wankers Ensign to try and resemble an Independent set up so as not to alienate Stump's fan base......which it did. They even had it distributed by The Cartel, so a stealthy,but doomed, effort was indeed made.
The catalogue number was good anyway....Stuff U2!
The tunes are the usual tremolo heavy, herky jerky, slidey quirk out's that the group were synonymous with. The intensely irritating 'Buffalo' is included, along with a decent tune that could have been written by a person skilled in the art of classic songcraft, "Our Fathers".If there was a Beefheart equivalent to this tune, it would be from fan base losing "Blue Jeans and Moon Beams" rather than fan base rebuilding "Doc at the Radar Station"; and benefits greatly from a total lack of.... 'Quirk Out'! 

Tracklist:

A1 Tupperware Stripper
A2 Our Fathers
A3 Kitchen Table
B1 Buffalo
B2 Everything In Its Place
B3 Bit Part Actor

DOWNLOAD and stuff U2 HERE!

Stump ‎– "Mud On A Colon EP" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 6) 1986

Peculiar London Based Anglo-Irish combo who sounded like Captain Beefheart's Magic Band fronted by Jimmy Cricket. Slightly annoying and 'clever clever'; these show-offs nearly made it as a chart band!?....They signed to a 'proper' record label and consequently were never heard of again.....the same old story. The fact that they were snapped up by one of the shitter 'proper' record labels (Ensign?!) couldn't have helped their prospects for lucrative longevity.
The original singer was none other than that irritating bloke from The Shrubs, Nick Hobbs, who was sacked for being 'too serious'!? Then he got replaced by the slightly less irritating Mick Lynch (who died earlier this year, RIP).
An EP is about all i can take in one sitting, so luckily Ron Johnson didn't inflict a full album on us...leave that to Ensign.
It didn't help that they used a fretless bass! One of thee most awful instruments ever devised, alongside the soprano sax, and the Yamaha DX-7.
Stump, as a whole, were a kind of hip novelty band, who one struggled to take seriously, even though they weren't at all funny(?)....maybe Nick Hobbs should have stayed on? 

Tracklist:

A1 Orgasm Way
A2 Ice The Levant
B1 Grab Hands
B2 55-0-55

DOWNLOAD that mud from your colon HERE!

The MacKenzies - "The Legendary Peel Sessions of 1986" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

Whereas I was complaining that The Shrubs put too much on one record, The MacKenzies didn't put enough stuff on any recorded music format....until now!
Their entire vinyl output was an excellent 7" single, and a not so excellent 12" EP of naff  eighties dance remixes of 'Mealy Mouths'.
They did, however,record two Peel sessions before they broke up; the first of which was so admired by the venerable DJ that he repeated it a record seven times!?
A tragically under-recorded and long forgotten, late flowering of the Postcard sound was The MacKenzies. Fast choppy indie-funk, that made those pale young men just wanna dance,even without the aid of a fistful of disco biscuits.
The MacKenzies would fall victim of the ensuing 'dance' revolution,but not before releasing, a fine single,and one of the very rare 'shit' records on Ron Johnson. The Peel Sessions are the only place where this fine group's well-oiled machinery was ever captured in action.
The bastard offspring of the Fire Engines and Josef K,this group flickered into existence only briefly like a man made heavy element in a particle accelerator.Whose existence can only now be proved by mathematical theory as we wait for the next unstable creation to form.If they had stayed around like an inert gas,or The Fall,they would have been a cult element on the periodic table of pop. Like number 117, Ununhexium, or Uuh; which some lunatics believe is the basis of an anti-gravity system that could propel mankind deep into the cold heart of empty space,where only the most distant stars inhabit.....rather like the music star system.Its best to stay earthbound rather than reach for the stars only to find out that they harbor no life,and confirm that we are,after all, alone!
What I am saying is, that it's best to stop before one does something you're gonna be ashamed of artistically and personally.
If Dire Straits had stopped after their first single, we'd have thought that they were a pretty good group.....but no;and the rest is a tragic example of why one should bow out well before the crest of the wave starts to form.

Track Listing:

01 New Breed (10-2-86)
02 Man with No Reason (10-2-86)
03 Give Me Everything (10-2-86)
04 Gobstopper (10-2-86)
05 Milk (30-7-86)
06 Big Jim (30-7-86)
07 Mealy Mouths (30-7-86)
08 Jingle (30-7-86)

DOWNLOAD the legend HERE!

The Shrubs - "Peel Sessions 1986/87" (a Die or DIY? compilation)

Surprise! Surprise! The Shrubs did some(2) Peel Sessions.
The usual complex skewed guitar interplay, rolling drums, and manic vocals; resulting in a glorious, abstract, art damaged collection of Shrubbery.
Congratulations to the BBC's Dale Griffin(RIP), who managed to blend the vocals further back in the mix to previous releases by the group.Obviously the Singer (Nick Hobbs) must normally have been in the control room asking for his vocals to be louder; as is a normal pastime for most musicians in the recording studio.
Rule number one for a producer is to never have musicians in the control room during the mixing process....they think that they're 'Artists'!?

Track Listing:

01 John Corpse [22-06-86]
02 Blackmailer[22-06-86]
03 Animal[22-06-86]
04 Assassin[22-06-86]
05 King Um [26-08-1987]
06 Papa Chaperon [26-08-1987]
07 Sullen Days Are Over [26-08-1987]
08 Bullfighter's Bones (Bonus C-86 track)

DOWNLOAD directly to your musical garden HERE!

The Shrubs ‎– "Take Me Aside For A Midnight Harangue" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 23) 1987

What did I say about not allowing The Shrubs to do an LP?....this would have made three great EP's.
The Beefheart Influence looms large, leaning towards an amphetamine fueled Magic Band 'Shiny Beast" era. Morris-Teper rather than Horn Rollo; but whereas the good Captain took a break from the manic-ness  with the occasional poem,field recording, or calm instrumental. The Shrubs are in top gear for nigh on the full 13 Tracks, only ending with a calming Peon-esque instrumental.
However, the music is fantastic; the guitar interplay is worthy of The Magic Band itself, filtered through a very English psyche! There can be no higher compliment than that.

Tracklist:

A1 Mysterious Places 2:58
A2 Luke 2:20
A3 Fashion Show 3:33
A4 Middle Men 3:52
A5 Claykiln Mouth 3:35
A6 Blackmailer's Heartache 3:11
A7 Rivers Of Toads Flow Forever 3:24
B1 Sinister Missions 3:06
B2 John Corpse 3:57
B3 Hail Chauffeurs 4:28
B4 Serial Revelry 2:42
B5 Farmers 4:45
B6 Edith 4:04
B7 Albert Ross 0:54

DOWNLOAD for a midnight harangue HERE!